Swimming flippers including a shoe disengageable from a blade are known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,219 to Beltrani et al. discloses a swimming flipper including a blade and a shoe constituted of two separable elements. The heel portion of the shoe is provided with a hooking-tooth back appendage and the blade includes a recess to be snap engaged by the hooking tooth.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,719 to Wozencraft describes a shoe worn by a swimmer which is secured to a fin. The shoe is inserted in a frontward pocket of the fin and a strap is brought over the instep of the swimmer's foot and fastened in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,060 to Lam describes a swimming flipper having a disengageable shoe and fin. A hinge connects the bottom portion of the shoe with the front portion of the fin and allows the shoe to rotate with respect to the fin.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,738 to Trell describes a swim fin which is attachable to and releasable from a shoe which may remain on the foot of a swimmer. The shoe has an extending flange portion which forms a tongue and the removable fin has a tongue receiving groove.
Such swimming flippers are advantageous in that they allow a user to remove the blade from the shoe when it is desired to walk in the shoe structure without the blade. For instance, it is desirable to detach the blade from the shoe when walking up a swimming pool ladder or when walking to a swimming pool. Such swimming flippers are also advantageous in that they allow a user to attach the shoe to the blade when it is desired to walk in the shoe structure with the blade. For instance, it is desirable to attach the blade to the shoe to facilitate underwater movement in those areas of the water where movement with a blade is desirable.
Those suffering from debilitating foot conditions have difficulty engaging in various exercises, such as running, that require applying pressure to the feet. Therefore, oftentimes those people are prescribed water therapy/swimming, as swimming tends not to be as painful to sufferers of various foot conditions as other forms of exercise tend to be. Swimming flippers are desired while swimming to protect feet from injury and to facilitate underwater movement. However, those suffering from foot pain typically have difficulty inserting their feet into the shoes associated with some swimming flippers of the prior art. Typically, a swimming flipper of the prior art require that the user insert his foot within a relatively small opening to properly position the shoe on the user's foot. This can be painful and challenging for a person suffering from serious foot conditions. For example, it would likely be painful for a person with diabetes suffering from foot swelling, ulcers, or other sores to squeeze his foot into or out of the opening of the swimming flipper shoe. Furthermore, materials of many prior art shoes associated with swimming flippers are rigid and are thus likely to cause pain to the user upon contact with a foot of a person suffering from a painful foot condition.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a swimming flipper that is relatively easy for a person suffering from a painful foot condition to utilize without anyone's aid.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a swimming flipper that is relatively easy to utilize.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an improved footwear structure for coupling with a swimming flipper blade.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved swimming flipper.